This invention relates generally to laser eyewear and particularly to a clip-in laser eyewear assembly for securement to the inside of a pair of eyeglasses. Particularly, the invention relates to an adjustable clip-in laser eyewear assembly which is constructed and arranged for securement to the inside of eyeglasses.
The use of lasers has become increasingly common, particularly, in the dental and medical arts. To protect the eyes of the user of the laser device, protective eyewear is recommended and required. Typically, the physician or dentist wears eyewear with magnifying loupes when working with lasers. These eyewear structures make it difficult to provide protective eyewear, i.e., laser filters. Because the magnifying loupes are positioned in front of the eyeglass lenses it is necessary to position the laser filter lenses against the back or on the inside of the eyeglasses.
Although the prior art has taught the use of utilizing various filter lenses for use with eyeglasses, i.e., clips used for sunglasses, the eyeglasses used in the medical and dental arts, for example, present unique difficulties, because of the magnifying loupes positioned in front of the eyeglass lenses. One prior art device (U.S. Pat. No. 5,917,574) teaches the use of an eyewear protection accessory which is positioned with respect to the inside and top of each lens frame member of the eyeglasses with magnifying loupes. The inside edge of the accessory lens frame is designed to be captured between the nosepiece of the eyeglasses and the back surface of the lens. This accessory structure, however, has limitations in its use, because the eyeglasses must be constructed and arranged to receive the inside edge of the accessory.
The clip-in laser eyewear assembly of the present invention provides an improvement and overcomes the difficulties of the prior art by providing a clip-in laser eyewear assembly that is constructed and arranged for positioning with respect to the outside and top of each lens frame member of the eyeglasses with magnifying loupes. An adjustable brow bar having a spring provides an internally directed force to secure the laser filter lens frames to the inside of the eyeglasses and further provides adjustability to accommodate different sized eyeglasses.
The clip-in laser eyewear assembly of the present invention is comprised of a clip-in structure comprised of a frame structure having a pair of lens frame members having laser filter lenses. The lens frame members are joined at the top by a brow bar structure having a spring member which provides an lateral internally directed force to secure the laser eyewear assembly to the inside of the eyeglass frame. Hooked clips are fixed and positioned at the top and exterior sides of each filter lens frame member. The exterior clips are constructed and arranged to engage the exterior sides of the eyeglass frame having the magnifying loupes. The top clips are constructed and arranged to engage the top of the eyeglass frame. Importantly, a spring member is positioned in the brow bar assembly or connecting structure between the filter lens frame members of the clip-in laser eyewear assembly. The spring member provides the clip-in laser eyewear with adjustment means to enable the clip-in structure assembly to be used with a range of eyeglass sizes. Further, the spring member provides an internally directed lateral force to the exterior clips to secure the clip-in structure to the eyewear with magnifying loupes.
These and other benefits of this invention will become clear from the following description by reference to the drawings.